Metals Recycling Co., Inc. v. Maccarone
| Decision Date | 26 June 1987 |
| Docket Number | No. 85-449-M,85-449-M |
| Citation | 527 A.2d 1127 |
| Parties | METALS RECYCLING CO., INC. v. Louis R. MACCARONE et al. P. |
| Court | Rhode Island Supreme Court |
This is a petition for certiorari brought by the petitioner, a scrap-metal salvage company, from the Johnston Town Council's denial of the petitioner's license-renewal application. We reverse.
The petitioner, Metals Recycling Co., Inc., is in the business of shredding metals, primarily from used automobiles, into scrap for resale. In 1979 petitioner acquired a shredder, constructed a building to house the shredder, and commenced its shredding operation. The petitioner has annually applied for and received operating licenses from the town under local ordinances, Johnston Code §§ 5-8 through 5-18, and from the State Board of Wreckers and Salvage Yard Regulation, pursuant to G.L. 1956 (1984 Reenactment) chapter 14.2 of title 42.
In early 1985 the town council received a number of complaints about petitioner's business from its neighbors. In response the council scheduled a series of meetings with petitioner and imposed several restrictions on the operation of the business, including that (1) a fence be erected around the property, (2) all gasoline tanks from old automobiles be removed prior to their entry onto the property, (3) all trucks entering the premises use a specified approach, and (4) smoke, noise, and rodent-control devices be installed.
Between March and September 1985 petitioner spent approximately $140,000 to bring its operation into conformity with the council's restrictions. It installed a roller device to remove gas tanks as the automobiles entered the yard, erected a fence, installed a dust collector and scrubber on the shredder, paved the scrap-yard area, and bought a used street sweeper to clean the street leading into the yard.
In September 1985 petitioner submitted its annual application for license renewal, and on September 16, 1985, the council conducted a public hearing on the application. At the hearing, Pasquale Izzo 1 testified that he had not violated the conditions of any of his operating permits, that he had spent about $140,000 in improvements to answer his neighbors' complaints, and that relocating the business would cost about $500,000. The neighbors who testified against the license renewal complained about the health hazard, the smoke, the dust, the stench, and the noise emitted by petitioner's operation.
Thereafter, on September 30, 1985, the council voted to deny petitioner the license. Only three of the five council members voted on the license application, a fourth councilor abstained, and the fifth member was not in attendance. Council president, Benjamin Zanni, within whose district petitioner's business was located, voted to deny the license because he felt that petitioner had violated the town zoning ordinance and that the operation constituted a public nuisance and therefore amounted to an unreasonable use of the property. Councilor Michael Simone, out of political deference to Zanni, voted to deny the license, as did Councilor Louis Maccarone for what he termed petitioner's violation of the "best neighbor policy."
The petitioner raises several grounds for reversal of the council's judgment. We need only reach the question of whether the statutory licensing provision, G.L. 1956 (1976 Reenactment) § 5-21-1, which permits the town council to renew or revoke existing auto-salvage licenses at its pleasure, is an unconstitutional delegation of legislative power. 2
This court on a number of occasions has examined questions relating to chapter 21 of title 5; no case, however, has directly addressed the question before us today. In Newport Auto Salvage, Inc. v. Town Council of Portsmouth, 502 A.2d 339, 343 (R.I. 1985), for example, the petitioner "made some vague references to the unconstitutionality of § 5-21-2 but * * * cited no cases in support of this proposition." Consequently, we refused to rule on the challenge because "the burden of persuasion [to rule on that challenge] requires more than a mere assertion thereof." Id. 3
In Novak v. City Council of Pawtucket, 99 R.I. 41, 205 A.2d 589 (1964), the court held that the city council should not have denied a license to operate a second-hand auto dealership without specifying its reasons for doing so. The court specifically noted that it was not concerned with the legislative grant of authority under § 5-21-1 because the issue had not been put in question by the parties. 99 R.I. at 42, 205 A.2d at 591.
Likewise, in Padula v. Town Council of West Greenwich, 94 R.I. 196, 179 A.2d 334 (1962), and Fink v. Bureau of Licenses, 90 R.I. 408, 158 A.2d 820 (1960), the court upheld denials of licenses without reaching the question of whether §§ 5-21-1 and 5-21-2 unlawfully delegated legislative power. However, merely because this court has recognized and applied a statute over an extended period so as implicitly to concede its validity does not suggest that a constitutionally based challenge to its validity is not in order. See Newport Auto Salvage, Inc., 502 A.2d at 343.
The town council's authority to renew petitioner's license derives from § 5-21-1. Section 5-21-1 reads in pertinent part:
Pursuant to this statute, the town of Johnston enacted §§ 5-8 through 5-18, 4 § 5-9 of which states:
The petitioner argues that the enabling legislation, § 5-21-1, which permits towns to license auto-salvage operations, is an unconstitutional delegation of legislative power in that it allows the town council unlimited discretion to renew or revoke licenses. We agree.
Under our constitution, the General Assembly's unbridled delegation of its legislative power is unconstitutional and void. City of Warwick v. Warwick Regular Firemen's Association, 106 R.I. 109, 256 A.2d 206 (1969). This so-called nondelegation doctrine does not entirely prohibit the General Assembly from delegating portions of its legislative power so long as the delegation is reasonable. 5 Jennings v. Exeter-West Greenwich Regional School District Committee, 116 R.I. 90, 97, 352 A.2d 634, 638 (1976). The delegation will be deemed reasonable, and therefore lawful, if it is...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Bottone v. Town of Westport
...have inappropriately adopted that rule from cases involving legislative to executive delegations. See, e.g., Metals Recycling Co. v. Maccarone, 527 A.2d 1127, 1129 (R.I.1987) (adopting rule from administrative delegation case of Davis v. Wood, 427 A.2d 332, 336 [R.I.1981]; Indiana Universit......
-
Bourque v. Dettore
...therefore, any unbridled delegation of legislative power by the General Assembly is unconstitutional and void. Metals Recycling Co. v. Maccarone, 527 A.2d 1127, 1129 (R.I.1987) (citing City of Warwick v. Warwick Regular Firemen's Association, 106 R.I. 109, 256 A.2d 206 (1969)). As a practic......
-
IN RE ADVISORY OPINION (CASINO II)
...1 and 2 of article 6 of the Rhode Island Constitution; it is of constitutional magnitude in its own right. Metals Recycling Co. v. Maccarone, 527 A.2d 1127, 1129 n. 5 (R.I.1987). The nondelegation doctrine "serves the dual purposes of protecting the `citizens against discriminatory and arbi......
-
NEWPORT COURT CLUB ASSOC. v. Town Council of Middletown
...General Assembly from delegating portions of its legislative power so long as the delegation is reasonable," Metals Recycling Co. v. Maccarone, 527 A.2d 1127, 1129 (R.I.1987), and "lays out an intelligent principle to which an administrative officer or body must conform." Id. (quoting Davis......